Damper and heat-regulator for incubators.



I L. A. BROWN. DAMPER AND HEAT REGULATOR FOR INCUBATORS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 1, I916.

Patented Mar. 27, 1917.

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LUCIUS A. BROWN, OF CLAY CENTER, NEBRASKA, ASSIGNOR TO THE M. M. JOHNSON CO., OF CLAY CENTER, NEBRASKA.

DAMPER AND HEAT-REGULATOR FOR INCUBATORS.

Application filed May 1, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, LUCIUS A, BROWN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Clay Center, in the county of Clay and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dampers and Heat- Regulators for Incubators, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to incubators and consists of a desirable improvement in the construction and cooperation of certain essential parts of the damper and heat regulater devices which ordinarily form a part of the mechanism of incubating machines.

It is a matter of considerable consequence in incubator construction for the mechanism to be made as simple as possible on account of the fact that machines of this class are frequently operated by persons without experience, or mechanical ingenuity, such for instance as women and older children.

With the foregoing in view the present invention has to do with the provision of a novel form of operating lever for the wick shaft of the heater forining a part of the heating equipment of the incubator, said actuating lever being designed with a view particularly of facilitating its attachment, detachment and adjustment in relation to the finger piece commonly provided on the wick shaft of the burner. The advantages for the peculiar construction referred to will be quite apparent upon consideration of the accompanying detailed description, and reference to the annexed drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of an in cubator showing an adaptation of the improvement to the heating device;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the wick shaft actuating lever, the essential feature, of the invention, dotted lines showing the wick shaft finger piece disengaged from the lever and in a position in which it is ready to be placed in operative connection with the lever.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken about on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an edge view of the lever showing clearly the tapered edgewise formation of the clutch flanges; and

Fig. 5 is a view in elevation of the said actuating lever showing the additional tapering formation of the same, the pur ose of which will appear more fully hereina ter.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 27, 1917.

Serial No. 94,720. I

The drawings illustrate a well known type of incubator A, one of the walls of which is broken away to show the interior arrangement of the thermostat 1, which is connected by a suitable lever 2 with the damper operating lever 3. The lever 3 is suitably mounted upon the water tank 4: which has connected therewith the chimney 5 of the heater. The damper 6 is carried by the lever 3 and the said lever is likewise connected at one end by the rod 7 with the lever 2 and at the other end by the rod 8 with the actuating lever 9 of the wick shaft 11. The wick shaft 11 forms a part of the burner 12 and said shaft is supplied with the common form of knurled flat finger piece 18 seen best in Figs. 2 and 3. The actuating lever 9 is connected with the shaft 11 for the purpose of transmitting the movement of the lever 3, operated from the thermostat l, to the wick shaft, whereby the wick of the burner or lamp may be turned up or down incident to variation in the temperature in the incubating chamber and simultaneous with desired corresponding movement of the damper 6, all with a view to proper control of the temperature in the incubator in the well known manner.

Referring especially to Figs. 2 and 3, it will be observed that the lever 9 is of angular formation, is supplied at one end with a weight 9, and is formed. longitudinally of its edges with flanges 9. Nearly throughout the length of the lever 9 the flanges 9 are turned flat against the body of the lever 9 but adjacent to the end opposite that having the weight 9 the said flanges 9 are spaced from the body of the lever.

The foregoing construction is designed with a view to utilizing the said spaced portions of the flanges 9 as a clutch or interlocking means intermediate the lever 9 and the finger piece 13 of the wick shaft 11. With a view to the foregoing, the spaced portions of the flanges 9 are so spaced from the body of the lever that they will exert upon the opposite sides of the finger piece a resilient or spring pressure which has been found to afford an efl'ective engagement be tween the said parts preventing relative movement of the member 13 when gripped by the flanges in the manner suggested.

With a view-to increasing the efiectiveness of the gripping action or engagement of the lever 9 with the member 13, however, it is contemplated that the spaced portions of the flanges 9 shall be contracted slightly toward the points denoted w in Fig. 2 whereby the farther the finger piece 13 is forced into the space between the lever body and said flanges the greater will be the gripping action on the lever. This tapering formation is most clearly illustrated in Fig. 4.

As seen best in Figs. 3 and 5, the lever 9 tapers lengthwise toward its weighted end as viewed sidewise, in addition to its edge wise tapering formation at the spaced portions of the flanges 9 and this construction is obviously conducive to increasing the gripping'action in a manner somewhat similar to that hereinbefore mentioned, incident to the movement of the finger piece 13 toward the smaller end of the lever, once said finger piece is engaged with the flanges. The formation of the lever 9 is such obviously that the body and flanges thereof provide a tapering socket open at one end to receive the finger-piece 13. The inherent resiliency of the material from which the lever is made is relied upon for effective engagement of the parts 9 and 13.

The detail construction of the lever 9 is above set forth and it will be evident that the clutching or engaging action of the lever .in respect to the member 13 is such. that the parts may be adjusted in relatively .permanent positions in respect to one another, when the wick shaft is adjusted with the flame of the wick at any heat. The member 13 simply slips on and off the clutching or engaging end of the lever 9and the parts can be placed in cooperation as easily by a child as by an experienced operator.

The detachable connection established between the parts 9 and 13 furthermore is advantageous in that in facilitating quick detachment and connection when it is found thatthe flame of the burner is a little too high or a littletoo low, and a slight relative adjustment of the said parts is necessary in order to control said flame. It has been found, furthermore, that notwithstanding the resiliency of the metal from which the lever 9 is made, an abundance of mechanical strength is obtained to meet all requirements in respect to the binding action of the clutch portions of the flanges 9 'on thefinger piece 13, and the structure is such that no screws or nuts or similar parts are needed, the latter being objectionable on account of working loose and con fusing theinexperienced operator in making adjustments necessary for effective ac tion of the regulating'means of which the invention forms an essential part.

By reason of the provision of the flanges '9 it is apparent that the whole lever structure of which said flanges form a part is so rigidified that comparatively light sheet metal may be utilized from which to make the levers, without sacrificing strength or efficiency in many other ways. Likewise the aperture 1 1 in the lever through which the lower end of the rod 8 passes is between flanged portions of the lever and thus reinforced thereby.

The gripping action of the spaced portions of the flanges 9 is susceptible of being increased in the event of undue looseness, by mere compression of said flanges adjacent to the point x.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In means of the class described, the combination of a wick shaft finger piece or the like, and an actuating lever therefor, the latter comprising an integral body having spaced flanges bent from its edge portions and having portions spaced from its body portion, the finger piece being clamped between the flanges and the body owing to the resiliency of the flanges.

2. A wick shaft having a finger piece and an actuating lever therefor formed with a tapering socket open at one end and having members between which the finger piece is wedged, thereby positively connecting the finger piece and lever.

3. In means of the class described, the combination of a wick shaft finger piece or the like, and an actuating lever therefor com prising a body formed with spaced flanges bent over from its edges and adapted to impingedly engage with said finger piece to establish connection intermediate the last mentioned part and said lever, the space between said flanges and the body being contracted edgewise of the lever in a direction leading away from the finger piece entering portion of said space whereby to facilitate resilient pressure and clamping engagement of the flanges and body with the finger piece.

4. In means of the class described, the combination ofa wick shaft finger piece or the like, and an actuating lever therefor formed with spaced flanges bent over from its edges and adapted to impingedly engage with said finger piece to establish connection intermediate the last mentioned part and said lever, the space between the flanges and the body portion of the lever and the space between the flanges themselves being contracted in a direction leading away from the finger piece entering portion of said spaces whereby to facilitate wedging engagement between the finger piece and the lever at the flanges owing to the resiliency of the latter.

5. In means of the class described, the combination of a wick shaft finger iece or the like, and an actuating member tllerefor,

said member being made of relatively thin engaging elements for receiving thei'ebesheet metal and formed With edge flanges tween the saidfinger piece and having a, substantially throughout its entire length,

said edge flanges being bent flat against the ger piece.

I body of the lever for a portion of its length In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

and being spaced from said body adjacent to one end of the lever to form finger piece LUCIUS A. BROWN.

@opies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

clutching or clamping action upon the fin- 10 i 

